Overall sentiment for Hickory Heights Health and Rehabilitation Center is highly mixed, with clear strengths in short-term rehabilitation and pronounced weaknesses in long-term and overnight care continuity. A large portion of reviewers praise the facility’s rehabilitation services — physical therapy and post-acute rehab staff receive repeated, strong positive remarks. Multiple families describe excellent therapy outcomes, attentive rehab teams, and effective wound care. The facility also offers several valued amenities: a free on-site beauty salon and grooming services (haircuts, manicures), regular baths and a jacuzzi tub, transportation services, pet visitations, and a wide range of daily activities (bingo, musical programs, bible study, hairdressing class). Many reviewers note that the building is modern, clean, and has pleasant common areas and outdoor space, and some families report very positive, compassionate daytime nursing staff and administrative responsiveness.
However, there is a recurring and serious pattern of concerns about long-term care quality, staff inconsistency, and safety. Numerous reviews allege neglectful behaviors — residents left without timely bathing or toileting assistance, ignored call buttons and emergency cords, significant weight loss and lack of feeding for dementia patients, and reports of bedsores and missed medications. These incidents are not isolated to a single reviewer, and several accounts describe prolonged neglect (for example, a resident laid in feces for hours or allegedly not eating for long periods). Medication tracking and documentation problems are specifically mentioned, with at least one reviewer alleging dangerous lapses. These clinical and dignity-related failures lead some families to strongly advise against the facility.
Staffing and management issues are a dominant theme that helps explain the polarized reviews. Many reviewers contrast compassionate, attentive daytime and rehab staff with problematic graveyard-shift and weekend coverage. Complaints include rude or untrained staff, lack of responsiveness, high turnover, and inconsistent adherence to plans of care. A number of families describe poor handling of complaints by management — unprofessional behavior (yelling at staff in front of residents), insufficient follow-up on incidents, unreturned phone calls, and perceived lack of accountability after theft or safety incidents (including a reported car break-in by an employee and concerns about missing security footage). Conversely, other reviewers state that administrators handled problems promptly and demonstrated good customer service, illustrating highly variable experiences tied perhaps to timing, unit, or individual staff members.
Dining and housekeeping receive mixed feedback. Several reviewers praise the food and cleanliness, while others report inconsistent meal quality (over-salted or spicy food, spoiled milk deliveries) and variable day-to-day experiences. Laundry and property management problems (lost clothes, shoes, eyeglasses, dentures) appear multiple times, contributing to stress and complaints about dignity and attention to belongings. Facility-level positives such as free grooming services, active programming, and a pleasant physical environment are tempered by reports that room arrangements can be tight and single rooms are not available.
Safety and security are notable concerns for some reviewers: allegations of theft, missing items, and the aforementioned car break-in raise questions about staff vetting, camera use, and incident response. There are also multiple reports of serious clinical oversights that could pose life-threatening risks for frail residents (e.g., missed medications, lack of feeding for dementia patients). Families considering Hickory Heights should weigh the strong rehabilitation reputation and available amenities against documented variability in overnight and long-term nursing care, management responsiveness, and safety/accountability issues.
In summary, Hickory Heights appears to be an effective choice for short-term rehabilitation patients who can benefit from its well-regarded PT and rehab teams, clean modern facility, and active therapy and activity programs. For long-term residents—particularly those with advanced dementia or high nursing needs—the reviews indicate significant risk: inconsistent staffing, management lapses, neglectful incidents, and medication/documentation issues are recurring themes. Prospective residents and families should (1) ask specific questions about unit staffing ratios and night/weekend coverage, (2) clarify policy and practices for medication tracking, personal belongings, and incident reporting, (3) tour units at different times of day including evenings and weekends, and (4) request references from recent families with long-term stays to better gauge consistency of care over time.
